


Between a Mountain and a Glacier

by BloodRoseKnight



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Angst, Childhood Friends, Coming of Age, Drama, F/M, Family Drama, Melony needs a replacement, Mentions of Alchoholism, OC centric, Romance, fall out, ice type trainer, mentions of childhood trauma, no beta we die like men, what even are tags
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-06-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:15:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23853688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BloodRoseKnight/pseuds/BloodRoseKnight
Summary: Six years ago Gordie and Taiga were childhood friends as close as could be. Six years ago they fell out and haven't spoken since. Now Melony is ready to retire and has decided to find a successor since Gordie refused to work with Ice-Types, who better than the girl she trained how to battle with the typing?And she's about to show just how unrelenting a roaring blizzard can be in the face of a challenge.
Relationships: Makuwa | Gordie/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter 1

Between a Mountain and a Glacier

Chapter 1

_A man and a woman stood near the center of town where the Corvinknight Taxi’s dropped off and picked up, a young girl standing close by to them. It was easy enough to guess that they were a family judging by the girl’s evenly distributed trace between the two of them. The man, dark mahogany hair, and striking blue eyes with tanned skin from working long days in the sunlight looked impatiently as a silver watch of his wrist._

_“Your friend is late,” he spat at the woman causing her to flinch slightly._

_“I’m sure she will be here soon,” the woman attempted to reassure to no avail._

_The girl looked between her parents, they had only just moved to the city and she already knew the first night in the house would be spent with yelling and screaming. Hopefully, there wouldn’t be a noise complaint. If there was that meant police. When there was police they liked to ask questions. The girl didn’t like answering questions, she was always scared to answer them wrong and make her father upset._

_As her parents continued to bicker softly to each other—only being hushed due to the public setting—the girl looked down at her shoes. Her grandmother had insisted on making her dress up to meet with her mother’s old friend, though she couldn’t understand why. Was her mom’s friend a big deal? She still didn’t understand why, even if they were, that she had to wear a dress for the occasion. A dress meant she couldn’t play in the snow. And she really wanted to play in the snow. She never got to visit the snowy area of the region in Unova and now she would get to live in the snowy region. If there were any good hills nearby maybe her father would take her skiing like the one time they went to Snowpoint City in Sinnoh._

_“So sorry I’m late,” a voice called out to the family making all of them stand at attention. The girl looked at the woman in awe. She was beautiful with long blonde hair and a warm looking fur hat on. She wore some kind of jersey with an icicle looking logo on it. Her blue eyes assessed the family with a warm smile on her face. “The photoshoot ran late which made me late to pick up Sierra from the sitters since Gordie went off to play with his pokemon today.”_

_The little girl in the woman’s arms must have been Sierra. She looked young. Barley old enough to be not considered a baby anymore yet she seemed unbothered by the chilling air of the city—bundled up in her winter coat and sleeping soundly against her mother’s chest where she was cradled._

_“Melony it’s been too long!” The girl’s mother cooed as she stepped forward to hug the woman. The woman, Melony, returned the hug with as much enthusiasm as she could manage out of a one-armed hug._

_“It really has been Alane,” Melony said back to the woman with a smile. “You rarely call and now you have moved to my city, we have so much to catch up on.”_

_She paused to let out a hearty laugh before her eyes focused on the girl who had ventured closer to her mother. She didn’t quite hide behind Alane but she didn’t come darting forward either. Her frosty silver eyes studying Melony behind a fringe of caramel-colored bangs. Her coloring looked like Alane from her skin tone to her hair and eyes, but the shape of her face and nose were all her father._

_Alane caught her old friend staring before blushing a little. “I’m sorry,” she said with a bashful smile. “I still haven’t introduced you properly to my family. You remember my husband Jarred.”_

_Melony did remember meeting him at the wedding. He had told her she was brave for wearing a fitted dress with her figure. She didn’t like him that much. They gave each other a curt nod in acknowledgment and nothing more._

_“And this is our daughter Taiga. Taiga this is Ms. Melony she’s a dear friend of mine from when I was a kid.” Alane introduced her daughter to Melony. Melony leaned over a little to extend a hand to the girl._

_“It’s a pleasure to meet you Taiga. You are just the cutest little girl aren’t you?” Taiga took Melony’s hand and gave it a firm shake. She certainly wasn’t shy but she seemed rather quiet._

_“What’s that uniform you’re wearing?” Taiga asked suddenly taking a look at Melony’s gym uniform with inquisitive eyes._

_“Well it’s my uniform for the Gym I’m the leader of here in Circhester,” Melony answered simply, bouncing Sierra a little bit to readjust her. The girl nodded her head, not asking any more though Melody could tell she wanted to. Her eyes were lit up making the silver look less like frost and more like liquid mercury. Yet she didn’t ask, likely to be polite as a conversation in the cold would be tedious after a time. Melony couldn’t help but feel a little sad. The girl seemed far too young to be so polite._

_“How old are you Taiga?”_

_“I’m eight,” Taiga answered in a clear voice._

_“My you are just around the same age as Gordie then.”_

_“Whose Gordie?” Taiga asked cocking her head to the side. Alane giggled a little at her daughter’s openness. It wasn’t like her to take such a shine to strangers but Taiga was also a curious one._

_“Gordie is my son, he’s ten and just got his first pokemon. So he decided to do some training just outside of town.”_

_“I have a pokemon too!” Taiga suddenly exclaimed enthusiastically. Without any need for prompting she pulled out a luxury ball and opened it, revealing an Eevee. Taiga picked it up and the pokemon barked happily in her arms. “This is Eevee, she was a birthday present from my granny! Dad can I please go train with her, please?”_

_Taiga looked back with pleading eyes at her father. His face was too neutral for Taiga to read but Melony could tell he felt put on the spot. He really didn’t want his daughter running off somewhere when he was yet to be familiar with the city, but he also didn’t want to look overbearing to the only friend they had in town so far._

_“Fine, but you better be back in town by sundown. And be at Bob’s Your Uncle for dinner. Do you hear me little girl?” Taiga beamed at him nodding enthusiastically, pointing to the restaurant so to confirm she knew where the building was._

_“I’ll be there! Come on Eevee,” she said with a giggle and the two went bolting off in the direction that Melony had pointed to earlier when she said her son was training._

_“They grow up so fast,” Alane lamented and Melony chuckled._

_“Don’t I know it.”_

_Gordie had been training with him Rolycoly in the wild for a bit now. It was a special one his mom had gotten him that would be able to gigantamax once it was fully evolved. She had picked Rolycoly because she felt he was still a little too young for a Lapris and he seemed fond enough of rock-types._

_Actually he had loved rock types. He even had a bunch of books on different rock types from different regions. Melony hoped he would grow out of it when he became old enough to take over the gym but so far there was no sign of that happening. So, instead, she humored him and let him train his rock types._

_“Rolycoly use Smack Down!” Gordie called out and the little black coal pokemon followed its trainer’s command and used Smack Down on a nearby rock. Gordie cheered as the pokemon finally smashed the smaller bolder. “We did it!”_

_Both he and his pokemon celebrated for a moment, but it was short-lived. Mostly due to the sudden scream Gordie heard coming from a sloap nearby._

_“Incoming!” Was the only sound of warning he got before something crashed into him. Letting out a bit of a grunt he fell back into the cold snow that surrounded the area. He blinked is blue-eyes for a moment before they focused on a girl. She seemed to be a little younger than him and she was sitting on his chest, blinking at him with silver eyes. An Eevee barked from a nearby snowbank enthusiastically before bounding over to the two where they sat._

_“Sorry, I couldn’t figure out how to stop.” She stated simply as she got up off of him, clearing her dress of any snow that clung to it. He didn’t know how she wasn’t freezing in the knee-length apparel with black tights. She wore a jacket but it was unzipped, yet she seemed completely comfortable. Her hair, which looked like it was braided back had started to come undone. Yet she seemed completely unbothered and unphased. He blushed a little bit, he had never spent this much time with a girl before._

_Gordie tried to say something, to reprimand her for not looking where she was going or to ask if she was alright or what she was doing out there, but nothing came out of his mouth. Instead, his mouth opens and closes like some kind of Wishiwashi._

_“You’re pretty soft to land on,” the girl stated again with a little tact. Stating it as if she was just saying the sky was blue or it was Tuesday. He blushed at the statement, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious. He let his platinum blonde hair fall in front of his face, hoping it would obscure it._

_“Hey, you wanna have a pokemon battle?” The girl asked suddenly and he blinked looking up at her._

_“You don’t even know me,” was all he managed to squeak out._

_“Is that a no?” She asked with a pout. “If introductions are an issue, my name is Taiga. I just moved here. What’s your name.”_

_“Gordie,” he said and it barely came out as a whisper. He couldn’t even find himself looking at her as he stood up despite them being roughly the same height._

_“Gordie?” Taiga asked as if she was trying to remember it. Then her whole face lit up as it came to her. “Oh, you’re mom’s friend’s son!”_

_Gordie had no idea what she was talking about and went with it anyway. It was possible the girl’s mom knew his. His mom knew a lot of people._

_“Now you have to battle me! Please? I never get to battle. Granny always thought it was crude for a lady to have pokemon battles!” She was practically begging and he just nodded his head. Anything to get her to stop talking. She cheered and began bouncing around. It kind of reminded him of the Darumaka he saw in his mother’s gym._

_The two of them started to battle and at first, it was going well. Then at some point, the two children and their pokemon just started playing tag instead. They giggled and ran around the route, throwing snowballs at each other and laughing._

_“I like you Gordie.” Taiga stated with a smile as the sun began to sink low. “Let’s be friends ok?” Gordie only nodded shyly._

_…_

Taiga woke up with a start. She felt warm, despite the cool interior of her cabin. Rubbing her face she thought back on the dream. Fuck, how long had it been? Twelve years? If she was eight then and twenty-two now then it must have been. It felt like forever.

“Why the hell was I dreaming about that?” Taiga muttered to herself before falling back onto her bed. She tried to close her eyes in a vain attempt to go back asleep but she had accidentally woken up Glaceon in the process and the blue eeveelution was now kneading at her side, begging for breakfast.

“Alright, I’m up,” Taiga groaned before getting out of bed. She was only in her underwear to sleep, but she knew that now she was out from her toasty covers she would need her PJ’s and quickly put on her slippers, fluffy sweats, and a sweater before heading out to the kitchen.

The rest of her pokemon were already up by the time she had even started brewing her morning tea. She had always been more of a night person so she wasn’t really surprised. Glaceon waited patiently near her food dish while the rest were either playing in the snow outside of lounging in the living room.

As Taiga mentally took roll call she could see her Alolan-Ninetales sprawled on the couch and watched the other’s play outside. Her Galarian Darmanitan was chasing her Arorus though the snow. She giggled to herself but did note that one was missing. Curiously, she peeked up at the porch over-head and smiled. Sure enough, there was her Frosmoth asleep in the rafters of the wooden overhead. Much like herself, that particular pokemon was nocturnal. 

Opening the sliding doors she got on a chair and gently pulled down the sleeping moth pokemon and smiled. “Come on everyone, time for breakfast!” She called, waking up Frosmoth in the process causing the mon to sleepily crawl from her arms and up to her head.

Taiga giggled as everyone came running, she opened her bag of Ice-type pokemon food and quickly began to fill everyone’s bowls. Accept for Frostmoth and Auroras. Instead, the two of them received carefully selected berries to better fit their diet. Taiga could feel a few drops of Oran berry juice drop of her head from Frosmoth’s sloppy eating. She didn’t mind though. She would just take a shower and clean up. No use crying over it.

Suddenly there was a shrill ring to her Rotom phone.

“Incoming call from Professor Kukui! Accept or Decline?” The automated voice asked her as it quickly found it’s way to float in front of her face. She would never get used to Rotom’s being in everyday tech like this. She was sure some ghost-type scientist was likely writing a paper about the unethical farming of Rotom’s to make this possible, but that was something to look into later.

“Accept,” Taiga said and the screen flashed to show a tanned and toned professor, who as usual, seemed allergic to shirts.

“Kukui,” Taiga started with a stern voice as she sipped at her finally ready cup of tea. “What did I say about calling me before the hour of the PM?” He rolled his eyes at the way she was talking. He knew very well she was awake and functional by this time usually despite her nocturnal habits. She just didn’t like talking to people before noon. However, he didn’t have the time to entertain her strangely antisocial behaviors today.

“I have someone who wants a meeting with you today and I was wondering if you could be at the league in an hour?”

“You know I don’t do interviews outside of scheduled press conferences,” Taiga said stating it as if that was the answer. She half expected him to laugh and say something about how he knew but just figured he would ask anyway. But that didn’t happen.

“This isn’t a reporter,” was all he stated. Taiga’s eyebrows knit together with confusion. It wasn’t a reported that was trying to dig into the Alola Leauge’s personal life? Someone actually wanted to visit with her? She didn’t know who it could be. Anyone from the league that wanted to speak with her had her phone number or would just show up at her doorstep if they felt like braving Mt. Lanakila that is. And her mother would just show up on her doorstep. She supposed it could be her father or grandmother but she hadn’t spoken to them since the Unova incident. “Then who the hell is it?”

“She says her name is Melony. She’s with the Galar region as a gym leader. She says she has a proposal for you.” Taiga’s chest tightened at the name. Not because of who specifically but because of who she reminded Taiga of.

How many years had it been since she had spoken to either Melony or Gordie? Going on six now? Did she want to talk to Melony? She had nothing personal against the woman, she taught her everything she needed to know about ice-types. But at the same time, there were so many memories tied to her. But something else burned in Taiga. Curiosity. Why after six years was Melony trying to get in contact with her now?

“Taiga, you there?”

“Yeah, I’m still here,” Taiga answered the professor—not focusing on the phone. “I’ll meet with her.”

“Alright, I’ll tell her. I’ll see you at the league in about an hour.” Taiga simply nodded her head before she hung up the phone.

Taiga got ready for the meeting in a blur. Her mind a million miles away and thinking of a million different possibilities. Six years ago, Gordie and Melony battled it out for the right to change the typing of the Circhester Gym. Gordie losing had caused huge strain between the two family members even today. Taiga had paused her rundown to flinch at the memory. The fall out between the two was worse then even the media had gotten wind of. It had also been the catalyst for Gordie and Taiga not speaking despite being so close for so long.

Four years ago, Gordie rose up and was granted to write to split the gym with Melony. Resulting in gym typing changing every year between Shield Years and Sword Years much like the Stow-on-Side gym. It was a rocky start for the two family members working together but they managed to work with the compromise. Last year, the region received a new Champion—a fifteen-year-old girl named Gloria, taking down the reigning champion of Ten-Years Leon.

All of this was plastered over various magazine covers for battlers. Most of them ending up in the Leauge Lounge, not that most of the league members read them. Maybe Moon sometimes she would see the young-first champion reading them. Mostly they were used for coasters by Guzma—who had taken over for Hala after being both an Elite Four member and Kahuna became too much with the league's rise in popularity. Taiga herself had taken over after she was recommended by Wolfric from Kalos where she had been working as a gym trainer to replace Olivia who felt the same strain.

Molayne (having taken over for Acerola) would usually read tech magazines and Kahili always had her nose in the golf stuff. So it was a wonder they even bothered to have the subscription in the first place.

If Taiga was feeling sentimental she would sometimes pull up various exhibition matches from the Galar region and relive various memories. She had traveled with or battled just about every gym leader that was currently on the roster. Or at least she had. She saw on the latest issue of League Monthly that apparently both Piers and Opal had found replacements for their gyms. Good, maybe Opal could stop harassing her gym challengers then.

Before Taiga knew it, she was dressed in her jeans and blue turtle-neck and standing outside of the conference door the receptionist had directed her to. She gripped her belt that had her purse and pokemon out of nerves. As if sensing her discomfort Glaceon nudged her leg in an attempt to comfort her which made Taiga smile.

“Your right, I should just get it over with,” Taiga said with a smile. Then she opened the door.

It almost felt anticlimactic, seeing the simple table where both Kukui and Melony sat—chatting over what smelled like Tapu Cocoa. Melony looked good. Her hair had gained a streak of silver over the years but she still looked as cheerful and healthy as Taiga remembered. The older woman paused mid-laugh to look at her and then a wide smile spread across her face.

“Oh, Taiga is that you? You look so beautiful!” And with that Melony rose from her chair and strode over to Taiga giving her a big Bewear hug. She smelled like Mint and Vanilla. She smelled like her childhood. She smelled like Circhester—her home.

“You cut your hair, it looks nice,” Melony noted as she took a step back and Taiga touched her bobbed hair. It had grown darker with age, now being more brown then the caramel it was as a child, but that could also be due to the lack of time she spent in the sun despite living in such a tropical region. She had almost forgotten Melony had never seen her with her hair cut since it had been so long since she started keeping it short.

There was also an underlying thought and sting to the words. Mostly that it meant Melony wasn’t keeping tabs on her like Taiga was her and Gordie, but she quickly shook it off. It wasn’t like Alola was a well-established region. She had interviews but rarely did she have her photo featured anywhere. Alola wasn’t one for the fanfare like Galar was, trying to keep things traditional and homey instead.

Melony touched her cheek slightly and had a slightly worried expression. “Are you eating alright dear. You look a little pale and thin.”

Kukui snickered at that one and Taiga shot him a glare. He always teased her about her slender frame despite the amount she ate. “Yes, I’m eating fine.”

“That’s good to hear,” Melony said with a sigh.

“What are you doing here anyway? Shouldn’t you be prepping the Circhester gym?” _With Gordie?_ She didn’t say the rest. She couldn’t. She wouldn’t.

“Always so straight forward, even when you were little.” Melony reminisced as she ventured back over to her chair and took a seat. Taiga followed suit, sitting across from the Ice Gym Leader. “I’ll cut to the chase then. I have a set of triplets and I’m not getting any younger. I want you to take over as the Ice-Type Gym Leader for Circhester.”

Taiga blinked. What?

“I don’t know if you know this Melony, but I’m already an Elite Four member here. I can’t just drop everything and become a gym leader for a different league.” Melony clicked her tongue in disapproval at Taiga’s words.

“Of course I know, you think I don’t read up on what my favorite student has been up to since she moved?”

“Then why are you asking? Just let Gordie take over the gym full time.” Taiga was too bewildered to bother caring that she let it slip that she herself kept up on the Galar region. If questioned she would say it was for work nothing more. But she also knew no one really cared if she kept tabs on them other then her pride.

Melony gave a glare at the idea Taiga proposed. Taiga knew what that glare meant. “Over my dead body” Melony often had used that glare when she and Gordie were children and getting into wild trouble and schemes. Taiga let out a huff. She had forgotten Melony was just as prideful as she was.

“Why not have Sierra take over, or one of the gym workers you trained?”

“I trained you too, and Sierra has no interest in pokemon battling. She would rather try and work as a clothing designer.” The slight huff to Melony’s statement told Taiga she didn’t really approve of that choice but at least it seemed she was taking it better than Gordie’s choice to specialize in rock types.

“If you are worried about the Elite Four, Plumeria specializes in poison types and offered to come on under Guzma and Lusumine’s recommendation.” That wasn’t fair of Kukui. It made Taiga feel like they wanted her out of Alola. She wouldn’t be surprised. She wasn’t the easiest person to get along with and she knew it. She knew what the locals said about her. That she was cold-hearted and blunt. Excuse her for just being honest.

“I can’t force your hand,” Melony stated. “But I’m tired. Your mother isn’t getting any younger. And I know you. You are a reliable and dependable young woman who would be an excellent teacher and role model to the children and trainers in Circhester. I know Gordie would much prefer working with you instead of me.” Taiga flinched at that one. She highly doubted that.

_“What do you know? Your life is perfect!”_ His words still stung her to this day. Not from the harshness, but from the lack of truth. She had thought he knew her better than that. But she guessed not.

“You don’t play fair, dragging my mom into this,” Taiga countered doing her best to compose herself. She wasn’t upset. Something that surprised Kukui but only made Melony smile. She understood Taiga, as someone with the nickname “Icey Professional” how could she not?

“I never said I did.”

Taiga let out a puff of air and put her hands to her face before dragging them down. “Fine. Fine. I’ll become the new Circhester gym leader.”

“Excellent!” Melony exclaimed with a smile. “I’ll need you to fly out tomorrow, there is a lot of prep work since it’s the Shield year. I’ll go ahead and pay for the movers to pack and ship out your things to Galar.”

Taiga didn’t bother to protest Melony. She was off on a whirlwind and there was no stopping her. Besides, it was less for Taiga to think about. She could manage that. It would give her more time to mentally prepare for going home.

She just really hoped she didn’t regret it. 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

_“No way! Snorlax would so win against Tyranatar!”_

_“You don’t know that!”_

_“Neither do you!” The two children giggled as they walked. It had been about a year since Gordie and Taiga had met and the two of them had been inseparable. Some of the other local kids whispered about how close to two were but neither of them really talked to anyone else so they didn’t really seem to care._

_“When do you think we will start our gym challenges?” Gordie wondered and Taiga shrugged._

_“You have to be ten to be endorsed. Maybe your mom is waiting till I have my birthday so we can go together?”_

_“That would make sense. She worries about me going off on my own a lot.”_

_“I don’t blame her, you walked into a wall just last week.” Gordie groaned at that while Taiga giggled._

_“That wasn’t my fault. I couldn’t see over the boxes.”_

_“You still walked into the wall.” He frowned at her but wasn’t really upset. This was just how they were. He would do something silly and she would tease him about it. He would call it bullying if it wasn’t for the fact she didn’t say he was stupid for doing it, just that he needed to be more careful. Heaven forbid any of the other kids started teasing him. She was scarier then Zen Mode Darmanutan when that happened._

_He peeked over her shoulder then, something catching his eye. He saw a group of kids standing in a circle and laughing. He blushed at that, immediately assuming they were laughing at the two of them. Sometimes the other boys would catch him alone and tease him, saying she was his girlfriend. Wondering if he couldn’t stick up for himself. It upset him, but he didn’t tell Taiga. How could he? She was his only real friend._

_Gordie must have been staring for a while because she turned then out of curiosity. At first, it looked like she would shrug it off as she usually did when kids were mean to them. She would say something about how their opinion of her didn’t matter. But her eyes seemed to catch something Gordie’s didn’t and she quickly turned and stalked over there._

_Without any warning, she grabbed one of the boys and shoved them out of the way. Her face was twisted in rage. Gordie wasn’t sure what they did, but it must have been bad because she was in Zen Mode now._

_“If you’re going to pick on something pick on something your own size!” She yelled at the boy, ignoring the other two._

_“You’re that crazy chick that hangs out with the gym leader’s kid all the time.” The older boy stated and she didn’t seem phased at all by the words._

_“Yeah that’s right, and if you don’t want to get punched I suggest you leave.” She took a false step forward then and the boys took off running. Gordie wasn’t even sure what she did that made them fear her so much when she did stuff like that but he was grateful for it anyway. He watched as Taiga kneeled down then and began cooing softly._

_“What is it?” He asked coming forward. He leaned forward and saw the small pokemon in her arms: a Snom._

_“It’s hurt pretty badly, we should take it to your mom,” Taiga stated as she got to her feet again and took off running in the direction of the gym. She was moving too fast and Gordie’s head was spinning as he struggled to catch up with her._

_Thankfully it was the offseason, so his mother was in her office working on paperwork for the next year. She was seated at her desk when Taiga opened the door—barging into her office like she was Melony’s child instead of Gordie. Gordie trailed behind, apologizing to any staff that Taiga may have pushed past in her haste to get the Snom taken care of._

_“Taiga, Gordie? What are you two doing here? I thought you two were going to go train after school?”_

_Taiga simply held up the Snom in response to Melony’s question as if that was an appropriate answer. Melony blinked a few times. The poor bug and ice pokemon was hurt—bruised but not gravely injured. Nothing a super potion wouldn’t fix._

_“What happened? Did it wander into the field while you were training?” Melony asked and Taiga shook her head._

_“No, Gordie and I were walking and we saw a group of boys picking on it. I couldn’t just leave it.” Taiga looked to be on the verge of tears as she thought back on the memory. Gordie guessed that it was more anger than sadness. Taiga was an angry crier though he knew he would get punched in the arm if he told her that._

_“Awe, well why don’t I take a look at it.” Melony took the Snom from Taiga and Gordie stepped closer now to watch as his mother sprayed the medicine onto the pokemon. The poor thing was a pretty quiet pokemon so it didn’t make much of a sound._

_“What should we do with the pokemon when it’s healed?” Gordie asked Taiga with unwavering eyes. Taiga pondered for a moment, chewing on her lip as she thought._

_“I think I’ll keep it.” She stated, nodding her head as if it was already a done deal. “I like Snom’s. I think they're cute so why not?”_

_“Because your mom hates bug pokemon, that’s why.” Gordie said crossing his arms as the smirk on his face appeared. Taiga gave him a mild glare but there was no real heat behind the threat. She knew he was right, she just didn’t like that he was._

_“I’ll figure it out,” Taiga stated waving his concern away. “If nothing else I keep them at the gym until I can do the gym challenge.”_

_“And when did you plan on asking my permission to do such a thing, young lady?” Melony asks with a slight smile to her voice while Taiga returned a sheepish smile. Gordie wasn’t really sure why his mom and Taiga got along so well. Maybe it was because they both seemed to like ice types? He didn’t know, girls were weird._

_“Please Ms. Melony? I really like this Snom.” Taiga pleaded and Melony chuckled._

_“You just met this Snom,” Melony said and Taiga looked with big and pleading eyes._

_“Is that a no?” Taiga looked absolutely heartbroken. Gordie found himself thinking rapidly for any way to remedy the situation._

_“Well, your mom hasn’t said no yet. Maybe if you ask your dad? He likes bug types right?” Gordie suggested in his attempt to help. His own father always seemed to be out of town for business but Taiga’s worked from home so he was always there. He watched as Taiga stiffed and looked far away for a moment. Like she was contemplating if such an action would be worth it._

_Finally, she smiled and looked at Gordie. “That’s a great idea,” she said and she quickly grabbed the Snom from Melody that had been now healed._

_“If he says no, you can always bring him back to the gym,” Melony said with a smile. “One more Snom around here won’t make much of a difference but you would be in charge of caring for them.”_

_“Ok, I’m going to go ask Dad. I’ll see you later Gordie. Thanks again, Ms. Melony.” Taiga was out the door then. The young girl already coming to terms with whatever chore or favor she was going to have to do for her father in return for keeping the pokemon. There was always a favor like posing for a photoshoot or meeting with a business partner when she asked for something like this._

_“That girl, she was in so much of a rush she didn’t even think to go to the pokemon center did she?” Melony asked her son and Gordie shrugged._

_“Taiga does what Taiga wants,” was the only answer he could give._

_…_

Taiga had forgotten how beautiful the landscape of Galar was as she looked out the window of the train from Hulbery to Motostoke. There would be a connection then where Taiga and Melony would get on a train to Hammerlocke before finally taking a Corvinkight Taxi to Circhester.

“Is it the same as you remember it?” Melony asked suddenly pulling Taiga from her train of thought.

“Mostly, I find things don’t change too much. People change more than anything.” Taiga lamented and Melony clapped the girl on the shoulder making her jump a little.

“I guess, since when did you sound so philosophical,” Melony said with a hearty laugh. Taiga looked around then a little uncomfortable. Even if they were in there own in the mostly empty train car Taiga could still see the few whispering passengers. Most likely they were trying to figure out if it was THE Melony in their train car or a very convincing cosplayer.

“Keeping your social interactions to pokemon and a select few people will do that to you,” Taiga said with a joking smile. Melony hadn’t seemed to change one bit over the years. Although, as Taiga looked at the magazine in her hand she began to question how much everyone else had changed.

In the center of the magazine was a full photo spread of last year’s Galar gym leaders, the article sending a warm farewell to the retiring gym leaders and the promise to have interviews and photos of their replacement of their successors in the next issues. Taiga tried to not dwell on the likely hood of a photoshoot in her near future. Instead, she focused on everyone in the photos.

Kabu and Opal were the clearest in her memory besides Melony. Those two were gym leaders when she had taken her own gym challenge. She couldn’t help but smile at the memory of how mad she was when Gordie flew through Kabu’s trial but it took her several tries before she managed to beat the fire-gym leader. Then her laughing as Gordie struggled with Opal’s obscured questions. Kabu wasn’t retiring yet apparently, saying he would die as the Motostoke gym leader. Opal seemed to have finally found her successor. Taiga couldn’t help but feel a little jealous at future gym challengers who wouldn’t know the struggle of having to deal with Opal.

The other gym leaders, Taiga knew from childhood. Milo, Nessa, Bea, Piers, Raihan, and Leon. All of them had been doing their own gym challenge when Gordie and Taiga had been. Milo and Nessa hadn’t seemed to change much. Neither did Bea. Piers was retiring—though he seemed a little young for that. But Taiga did remember him saying music was his true passion so she guessed it made sense. Raihan still had that kind of face that made her want to slap it with that sly smirk. Leon was no longer champion but chairman instead. It seemed fitting though. He would be good at that kind of leadership role.

Taiga had heard of Alistor but never actually met him. He was Bea’s step-brother and the two were close enough that Bea gladly shared a gym with him. However, he seemed to refuse to take that mask off no matter what. It was a little endearing.

Taiga sighed to herself. She couldn’t avoid it forever. So she finally focused on Gordie. He had changed more than any of them. When they were kids he was so shy but still kind with a good sense of humor. Now he looked like some kind of jewel gun had gone crazy with the amount of jewelry he wore. He still had his hair yellow blond at the ends, likely a left ofter byproduct from when he had dyed it to try and look less like his mother. He also exuded confidence and smirked. Yet there was something unnatural about it. It felt like he was trying to hard to please the audience. It made her roll her eyes.

“Yeah, I wasn’t a fan of the jewelry either but apparently the fangirls love it so he keeps wearing it,” Melony stated and Taiga flushed.

“What makes you say I was looking at Gordie?”

“Honey, I’ve known you since you were a child. The only boy ever to make you roll your eyes like that was my son.” Taiga hated how much she was right. “How have you been anyway? You slept the whole plane ride over, so we haven’t had the chance to talk and catch up.”

“Well, I got my first job at the Snowpoint City gym in Sinnoh, then I transferred over to the Snowbelle City gym. I must have done well then because I landed a job as an Elite Four member.”

“I didn’t ask for a resume,” Melony frowned. “I get all that from your mother. I asked how you were. Any boyfriends? Funny stories? You know personal things.”

Taiga frowned. She didn’t really have much to tell on that front. She only really had professional relationships with her various coworkers. So she didn’t really have anything there. Boyfriends? Well, something told Taiga hook-ups and booty calls didn’t count. Not that Taiga ever wanted to admit to some of the people she slept with.

“Well, I caught two new pokemon,” Taiga offered just to say something. Melony knew most of her pokemon. Her Eevee had evolved into Glaceon on her gym challenge, the Snom she rescued as a girl, and her Darmanutan had been an especially bread Darumaka as her official starter.

“Oh, well how did you catch them?” Taiga could tell Melony was just trying to have any kind of conversation with her. Even as they transferred trains, boarding to head to Hammerlocke now from Motostoke.

“Well, I was digging through some caves in Kalos—the glittering cave—and I had heard about their fossil pokemon—” Taiga didn’t get to finish before Melony cut her off.

“Oh, you used to be so offended by fossil pokemon as a kid. That was the one thing you and Gordie would really fight on.”

“Not the only thing,” Taiga thought to herself. But she did remember the fights that Melony was mentioning.

“Not my fault the Galar fossils are painfully unethical. Anyway, they have sail fossils and I found one there. I had it revived and I got an Amura and Ice and Rock-type. She evolved into an Aurorus before I joined the Alola Elite Four.”

“I believe I heard of that pokemon. Apparently they found some fossils for it recently in the Crown Tundra.” Taiga nodded enthusiastically at that. “I read an article on that. I can’t wait until it’s open to the public. There are probably so many Ice Pokemon up there!”

Melony laughed again and Taiga smiled. “I think that’s the first time I’ve seen you fired up since I saw you again.”

“You shouldn’t be surprised, it wasn’t like we have been reunited long.”

“No, I suppose we haven’t been.” Melony sent a text on her rotom phone then. “And how about the other one.”

“It’s an alolan Vulpix. I caught one my first day in Alola. Guzma about killed me because I made him stand around on the frozen mountain all day to help me find one—” once more Taiga was interrupted.

“Who is Guzma?”

“He was one of my league colleagues who specialized in bug-types. You can imagine how upset he was to have to stand around on a cold mountain. But he was a native to the island and I needed someone to show me.”

“How did you get him to agree to that?”

“I promised to let him play with Frosmoth while I looked.” They both giggled at that.

“I’m glad to see you have been doing well over the last few years.” Melony lamented as they finally got into the Corvinknight Taxi. “Your mother never stops talking about you when she visits and watches the triplets.”

“She’s always been a chatterbox,” Taiga said in response. They road in silence the rest of the way.

…

Taiga’s mother was someone who Taiga expected to see when they landed. She had agreed to stay with her for a few weeks while she got her townhouse set up. However, Gordie was not someone she was expecting to see.

Taiga shot a look at Melony, and as if she was caught with her hand in the cookie jaw she looked away. She must have known they had a falling out before she left. And yet she decided to meddle like she always did. Whatever Taiga would deal with this. And judging by his face as she stepped out of the taxi, he wasn’t expecting her either.

She couldn’t get a good read on his face behind his gaudy sunglasses, but she didn’t care. She would keep her face frozen. He didn’t get to see the emotions she could feel rushing back. Fuck, how much had she missed him over the years? How many nights had she replayed the fight over and over—wondering what would have been if things had happened differently? She had liked Gordie since she was eight years old. Those feelings didn’t just go away even with six years of distance.

“Taiga it’s so good to see you!” Alane said as Taiga stepped out of the taxi. 

“It’s good to see you to mom,” Taiga said as she hugged her mother close. Taiga looked over at Gordie who appeared to be having a hushed argument with his mother. Guess somethings didn’t change about him.

“Gordie,” Taiga said in acknowledgment.

“Taiga,” he replied. “So you’re going to be the new ice type leader. You certainly have the personality for it.”

“And you seem to be overcompensating for something,” Taiga snapped back as she shot a look to his necklace then back to him.

“Alright, children that’s enough. You two haven’t seen each other in six years and this is how you great each other?” Alane scolded both of them and they looked away from each other. All the hurt and betrayal seemed to rush back to them at once.

“I’m tired. I’m going to the house.” Taiga stated simply not bothering to say goodbye to the gym leader family. She had a sinking feeling she was going to regret coming back home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Taiga's team for reference
> 
> Glaceon  
> Galarian Darmanutan   
> Frosmoth  
> Alolan Ninetales  
> Auroras


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

_Gordie sat alone in one of the locker rooms at the gym. Eighteen years old, and he felt like his whole world had crumbled before his eyes after suffering such a humiliating defeat to his mother. He put everything on the line, and he lost. The crushing weight of the feeling stung his eyes and his hands gripped on another making his knuckles go white._

_“Gordie, are you ok?” It was Taiga who carefully entered the gym changing room. She normally wouldn’t have been allowed it, but the staff likely made an exception since it was no secret the two were close. He snorted at her question._

_“What kind of question is that?” Gordie retorted with a snap—his voice barely stopping from breaking. “I lost. I wasn’t able to get my mother’s approval for rock types. She’s still looking down on me even now.”_

_“I’m sure she doesn’t mean it like that,” Taiga tried to soothe but it wasn’t enough he slammed a fist into the bench he was seated on. Despite the violent action, she didn’t flinch. He never understood why she never got scared when he got upset or when his mom got upset. Maybe she just didn’t know better._

_“You don’t get it! That’s exactly what she’s like! You might live in a rose-tinted world but I don’t I have to live with the expectations of being able to live up to my mother’s reputation!” He was yelling as tears streamed down his face now. He was never one to cry, but with Taiga, his emotions always seemed to find a way out._

_“I don’t live in a rose-tinted world,” Taiga said as she crossed her arms in a defensive manner. “And you are just being dramatic about all of this.”_

_The word snapped something in Gordie and he rose to his feet, one hand slamming next to Taiga’s head causing the locker to rattle. He was taller than average, about six foot and he had always kept a larger build—making her shrink in comparison. While she was fairly tall for a girl a five-eight, she had always stayed so scrawny. He had even lifted her up with one arm as a dare one time. But that was a long time ago and this was now._

_“What would you know about dramatics. About my life. You are just a spoiled little girl with a perfect like and a perfect family. You don’t know a thing about me.” His voice had dropped low and his eyes were intense as he glared down at her. For a moment as she stared at him with wide, silver eyes he thought she might start crying._

_Instead, he watched as silver hardened into steel and she blinked at him slowly. Her face losing all expression and going blank. He had never seen her shut down and become so cold before. Not to him at least._

_“You’re right,” she said softly without anger or without feeling. As if she was just stating a fact. It pissed him off. “I guess we don’t know each other.”_

_With that she shoved him away and stalked out of the locker room, her head held high. She didn’t slam the door shut—rather she let it swing shut behind her. He wished she had just slammed it or screamed at him because now, he felt even emptier then he thought possible._

_A few days after the match Gordie was all packed up to begin training in the wild area. He was surprised Taiga never came around, either to apologize or demand his apology. He was too stubborn to go see her himself even. He would be lying if he didn’t say he missed her or her random hugs—always saying he was better then a space heater against the cold of Circhester. But his pride was on the line, and he wasn’t about to say sorry. Not when what he said was true._

_He didn’t tell his mother what he was planning to do. She would likely freak out but it wasn’t like they were on speaking terms anyway. So instead he crept down the stairs late at night. He was shocked to see his mother still up and not alone. He quickly hid behind the banister and watched as his mother comforted her crying friend. It didn’t take long to register that it was Taiga’s mother Alane._

_“And then—and then he said I wouldn’t even get to see her unless I went to Unova.” She paused to cry into her tissue. “How can they do this to me? After everything he did to me and her how can the courts still grant custody to him?”_

_Gordie watched as his mother patted her friend’s back before handing the box of tissues to her friend._

_“It will be ok,” Melony comforted. “Taiga is a strong girl. She will find away.”_

_“But she’s gone and she didn’t even get to say good-bye to everyone. He practically threw her in the taxi—” Alane stopped and her eyes fixed on Gordie. He had wandered to the table at her words._

_“Gordie, what are you doing up? And what’s with the bag?” His mother questioned but he ignored her and stared at Alane._

_“Taiga’s… gone?” Alane looked just as confused then as Gordie felt. She was gone? Just like that, she went to Unova?_

_“She said she told you good-bye after your match with your mother. She was going to tell you sooner but I guess she didn’t want to distract you from training. Did something happen that she didn’t get to? I figured it didn’t go well because she was so quiet but still…”_

_No, she didn’t tell him. She didn’t tell him because they had fought in the locker room. She didn’t even tell him her parents were getting a divorce. He would have never guessed they always seemed to get along when he saw them together. But then again, maybe they didn’t. How many times had she brushed off bruises saying that she didn’t remember getting them or that she was just clumsy? How many times was she late to school saying she was just behind schedule? How many times did she reak of vomit and alcohol saying it was “Just a wild party at the house”? Was it all her father? The whole time they grew up together? Why did she never tell him?_

_He felt anger bubble up again and he turned on his heel and left the house. He didn’t know her. He never knew her. And somehow… that hurt more than anything she ever could have said to him._

_Despite his mother’s cries and pleads, he wouldn’t return to Circhester after that night until he was granted the title of gym-leader by Chairman Rose and his mother was forced to share the Circhester Gym with him._

_…_

Gordie groaned as he rolled over in his bed to look at his phone. It read only nine am, he didn’t have to be at the hotel for a press conference till noon. They were going to be introducing the new gym leaders to the media today and they wanted all the gym leaders there while they were at it, for “moral support” as Leon had put it.

He had been dreading the interview for the last three days. He had been avoiding most of his league work the last three days actually. Not that anyone was missing him at the moment since it was a shield year, which meant he was mostly doing paperwork. So the brunt of his work wouldn’t start until the season did when he would have to schedule matches and start getting next season’s pokemon in order. Sometimes he didn’t understand how the yearly gyms did it all, but that was likely because they were also granted assistants for that kind of work.

The last three days social media had been blowing up since Melony made the official announcement of her retirement. Rumors had been spreading for years since her exhibition match with Gordie and the rumor mill was flying with speculation on who would take her place. Some people assumed he would full time, others suspected Izra—a promising ice type trainer. No photos had surfaced of Taiga yet and that was likely for the best.

Taiga. She looked good with her hair short and the same wild and no-fucks-given demeanor. Yet she also seemed colder. It hurt seeing her. It might have been immature of him to start picking on her the second she arrives but she fired back without a second thought or hesitation. All the years of bottled up pain rushing back like a festered wound.

He would be forced to see her again today. Though, if he was honest with himself, he was less pissed at her and more pissed at what the implication of her being brought on at the Circhester gym meant. It meant his mother still didn’t acknowledge him. After four years of running a gym with her, she still didn’t think he could do it. It made his blood boil.

Getting ready was a blur for him. He was expected to appear in official uniform since it wasn’t a fan photo shoot and he would likely be expected to pose with some of his pokemon for photos. It would be a standard interview. There wouldn’t be any issues. He could do this. He would treat Taiga as just one of his colleagues and nothing more. He would admit, it would be difficult since he was so close to her growing up and the bad blood between them that seemed to be going strong, but he would manage. He would prove he was better than her and he was ready for the position.

He was ready and at the hotel conference room behind the curtain a half hour before the interview was scheduled to start. Thankfully he wasn’t alone. Leon was already there as well as Marnie, Piers's younger sister and new gym leader to Spikemuth. The poor thing looked a little cold and uncomfortable in her uniform but he could tell she was doing her best to hide it so he didn’t say anything.

They made small talk, asking how Marnie was adjusting her new roll? How was Piers? Had he mauled any of her fanboys yet? That one had managed to get a small smile out of the fifteen-year-old at least.

The trio from Turfield, Hulbery, and Motostoke arrived next. All of them laughing and smiling cheerfully. Not long after was Bea and Alister from Stow-on-Side. Gloria came then, quickly trying to fix her hair. They had only fifteen minutes till they were expected to be in their chairs. Bede and Raihan arrived at roughly the same time and while the other fifteen-year-old gym leader did his best to look confident and composed Gordie could tell he was just as nervous as Gloria and Marnie were.

Gordie wasn’t surprised that Taiga was last. What did surprise him though was Bea excitedly hugging the girl and giving her one of her rare smiles.

“I haven’t seen you in so long, how have you been?” Bea greeted and Gordie watched as Taiga gave a smile and giggle in turn.

“It’s been a whirlwind I tell you, Melony does not tolerate slacking but…” she paused and there was a look of serenity on her face. “It’s so nice to be home in Galar again.”

“Girls you can have your reunion later, we're on now,” Leon said doing his best to not sound pushy but still get the two young gym leaders out the curtains.

“Yes sir,” Taiga said with a solute causing Bea to giggle. It was weird seeing such a professional side to her. Maybe she had changed some over the years? Somehow he doubted it and she was just being courteous to her new coworkers.

Yet he said quiet and the gym leaders all appeared onto the stage, taking a seat in front of their nameplates in gym order. Of course, this meant that he was forced to sit next to Taiga but he also supposed it was for the best.

The flashes of cameras were almost blinding as the photographers quickly began to snap photos of them, likely mostly focused on the new gym leaders. Gordie was vaguely aware of where Opal, Piers, and his mother were standing at the back of the conference room. Likely more for support of their prodigies then anything. A few reporters eyed them but they stayed away mostly, they had fresh meat after all.

“Alright everyone, we will now be taking questions, please raise your hand in an orderly fashion and state who the question is for.” Leon commanded authority over the room in a way that was honestly impressive. It was something Gordie had come to admire about his peer turned boss.

“Yes,” Leon said as he pointed to the first reporter and then the questions started pouring in. Most of them at first were for Gloria, since she was the new champion. It made sense as she was now the face of Galar. Occasionally there would be a few questions shot at Marnie (the sweetheart of Spikemuth and an inspiration to other country girls—it was enough to make the girl blush) and Bede (mostly poking at his previous relationship to the chairman—something the boy tried to keep a straight face with but still made him tense.)

“Well, all I can say is what goes around comes around when concerning the chairman. If you don’t, believe me, that’s fine. Your opinion doesn’t concern me,” he said and he looked with intense violet eyes at the reported who dared cross him.

Taiga snorted beside Gordie. This drew some eyes to her from the audience. “I like that one, he’s got spunk,” Taiga said as she motioned to Bede. The boy blushed a little bit. Something told Gordie he wasn’t used to being complimented in such away.

“Ms. Taiga, can I ask how you met Melony? We are familiar with Marnie and Bede but you weren’t present in last year's Gym Challenge correct?” The next reporter asked before Leon even got the chance to call on them.

“You’re right. I didn’t do the gym challenge last year. I competed… what ten years ago?” She asked as she looked at the various other gym leaders who nodded in confirmation. “I grew up in Circhester with Gordie and spent a lot of time at the gym as a result. Guess that was enough to stick out to her since she requested me especially from the Alola region where I was working as an elite four member to their recently established league.”

There were a few more camera snaps and reporters frantically writing down the information she was giving them. She was handling the press well, better than Gordie ever expected. Especially since Alola wasn’t a particularly press-heavy area.

“Gordie, how does it feel to be working with your childhood friend?”

“Doesn’t everyone dream about working with their childhood friend?” Gordie said with as much enthusiasm he could muster. It was likely the only question he would be asked all night so he just had to get it out of the way and he would be good.

Unfortunately, Taiga visibly snorted at his answer causing him to falter and glare down at her. He knew he shouldn’t lose his cool. But he never was able to keep his emotions to himself when it came to Taiga.

“What are you laughing about?” He asked her directly. She smirked up at him, a wild chaos brewing in her eyes that reminded him of a blizzard.

“Just that if you are going to lie that badly then you shouldn’t bother lying.” Taiga looked out at the crowd again. “If you must know Gordie and I haven’t been on speaking terms since I left Galar six years ago.” It was enough to get the crowd going into a frenzy. Gordie looked to Melony for help but she just shrugged. Of course, she wouldn’t be helped, she knew exactly what she was signing up for when she appointed her as the successor.

“What caused the fallout?”

“A fight after Melony and Gordie has their match for the gym typing.” If she saw the glare he gave her for sharing personal information then she didn’t seem to care.

“Was it a breakup?”

“No, we were never in a romantic relationship.” That one stung a little bit for Gordie. They hadn’t been together, that was true. But some part of him was always sure they would be someday. Then the fight happened.

“Gordie, how do you feel about your mother choosing a successor instead of giving you full authority over the gym?”

That question was enough to finally break him for silence.

“I think it’s bullshit.” More snaps and more furious writing. He looked at Taiga again and he expected fury, entertainment at the chaos, anything. But instead, she sat calmly and listened to him. She was being courteous, and it pissed him off even more. “I have been proving my worth as a gym leader in Galar for the last four years. I lived in Galar my whole life—no offense Kabu. And yet, I’m told I have to share a gym with a girl who clearly has no respect for others.”

Taiga was still watching and Gordie was now upon his feet. He glared down at her, looking to Melony who was trying to motion for him to not do anything stupid, then he glared at her again. “I want to challenge you to an official match. If I win I get full control of the Circhester Gym, making Taiga’s position null and void.”

“Very well,” Taiga said rising to her feet. “I accept your challenge.”

“And if I win then you are going to shut and deal.” She said as she grabbed his necklace forcing him to lean down lightly. They were so close, how long had it been since the two of them bothered to share the same airspace? “Everything to gain and nothing to lose. Why don’t we have the match right here and now?”

He smacked her hand away but they didn’t break eye-contact in the slightest. He let his arm out in a grand gesture then pointing to the door. “Ladies first.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's going down the battle of the ages. Also fun fact Taiga's name is not a Toradora reference but a reference to the kind of Biome between Tundra and Temperate.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

“Of all the reckless stunts you could pull, you decided to pick a fight with Taiga. What if she had demanded you step down if you lost? Did you bother to think about that before you put such stakes on the line?” Gordie didn’t even bother to look at his mother from where she stood at the entrance to the gym leader/gym trainer locker room. Taiga was likely getting ready in the challenger room. He had seen her head in that direction without needing to be shown, Bea quickly following to keep the reporters from stoping her on the way.

“She picked the fight with me, I simply gave us a better outlet to settle our differences,” Gordie stated as he readjusted his shades and then turned to look at Melony. She crossed her arms and was looking at him with a chilling disappointment he recognized from childhood.

“And you chose to enable her.”

“Are you really mad about that or are you mad I undermined your decision in front of everyone.” Her mouth snapped shut and he knew he had hit the nail on the head. Taiga may have been the new face but the fight was still the same. It was still Melony vs Gordie. She could support his battles, comes to all his matches, and cheer him on. Yet it still wouldn’t change the way that she viewed him.

“I’m giving Taiga a G-Max Lapris before the battle. As an ice-type leader, she should have one. Especially since her Aurorus hasn’t been cleared for the Galar league yet. That shouldn’t be a problem for you since you’re so confident.” Gordie blinked. Honestly, he already had assumed his mother had given her one. But she was giving him a heads up. He snorted. Honestly, he really couldn’t tell where she stood half the time.

“Thanks, mom,” he said and she left the locker room. He was going to prove he could battle against Taiga and win. He was going to show the strength of rock-types. He would be a fulltime gym leader. He had a type advantage. So why did his stomach still roll with nerves?

…

Taiga sat calmly in the locker room. Strange, considering her job was on the line and she had everything against her from type line up to experience. She sat in her ice uniform with the warm-up jacket and leggings on. While the cold didn’t bother her too much she still would rather have to take layers off then put them on.

“Are you ok Taiga?” Bea asked from where she sat next to her. “I mean if you lose where will you go? They already replaced you in the Alola league didn’t that?”

“I suppose I’ll go back to Kalos and work at the Snowbelle gym. If he doesn’t take me maybe I’ll just shakedown trainers for money by battling.” Bea smacked Taiga’s arm causing her to laugh.

“Don’t even joke about that,” Bea scolded and Taiga shrugged.

“In all seriousness this battle is a long time coming. He and I… We both have a lot of frustration we need to get out. I’m not sure what else we could do and work things out. Hell, I don’t know if we can or if he wants to work it out.”

“Do you want to work things out?” Bea asked Taiga and she pondered for a moment. “I mean you did kind of dig at him in there.”

“I don’t like lying,” Taiga answered simply. “He was lying about where we were in relations and I simply chose to correct it. As for if I want to work things out… I don’t know. I still feel hurt over everything that happened but… Hell, I miss him so much. I miss my best friend. But until we get our feelings out in the open we don’t stand a chance.”

“Well, if that’s how you feel then you better not lose out there.” Taiga jumped and her head whipped around to look at Melony. She stood at the door in her powder blue button-up and dress slacks smiling softly at her young prodigy.

“I thought you would be giving Gordie a pep talk before the battle?” Taiga questioned and Melony shrugged. She walked over to Taiga and handed her an ultra-ball.

“I gave him a heads up and now I’m giving you a leg up. This is a G-max Lapris like every Ice-Gym leader should have. I meant to give it to you earlier but I was preoccupied with the interview. It hasn’t been trained but this should put you and him on an equal playing field.” Taiga looked down at the black and gold ball. Then she smirked.

“You never were one to take sides were you?” Taiga lamented causing Melony to chuckle.

“I can’t possibly pick between my son and the girl I practically helped raise. Family doesn’t pick between family. No matter how much you want to smack both of them.” Taiga always did love Melony’s brutal honesty. It was something she wasn’t used to considering her father’s lies over the years. The fake smiles as they all played house. This was real, a little broken but it was real. “Plus it wouldn’t be fair to let your mother be alone after I gave her hope of you staying home.”

“Well then,” Taiga said as she rose to her feet hearing the warning siren go off, signaling the two trainers to head out to the pitch. “I guess I better not lose then.”

…

Despite the last-minute nature of the match, the stadium was packed with the press and locals from Circhester. Taiga wasn’t surprised to hear the crowd chanting Gordie’s name more than hers. Still, the two of them stood on their sides of the field, unwavering and unyielding.

“I won’t lose I hope you know that,” Taiga told him with a smirk. “At least not without a fight.”

“You wouldn’t be the girl I grew up with if you just rolled over.” Gordie extended a hand as a good-sportsman gesture. She shook it. Despite their differences, the two would have to be crazy to underestimate the other in front of them. The two returned to their individual battle spots and the match started between Gym Leader Gordie and Gym Leader Taiga.

“Go, Barbarical,” he called and the pokemon appeared. Taiga was familiar with the Kalos native pokemon. She also had the exact pokemon to counter it.

“Frosmoth,” she called and her lovely moth Pokemon appeared. Gordie was more than familiar with the pokemon after years battling his mother. “Giga Drain, go!”

Gordie didn’t even have time to counter before the move hit, taking down the pokemon with a single hit. The audience was in shock and so was he. Taiga had gone all out with her team, even going so far as to use technical mechanics. It wasn’t unheard of, just unexpected.

“Your quick on the upkeep,” Gordie called out to her from where she stood on her mount. “But I’m just getting started. Go, Tyranitar!”

“Frosmoth, Giga Drain again,” Taiga called, and once more it managed to outspeed and get a hit off. Despite the sand, it was a direct hit. Once more his pokemon was knocked out again.

It was enough to stun the audience into silence and he was starting to feel the pressure. “Let’s Go Shuckle!”

The yellow and red bug and rock-type appeared on the field as Frosmoth was buffed by the sand storm. He peaked over at Taiga to see she was making a face.

“You are still fighting with that derpy thing,” she sighed and he almost busts up laughing. She had whined about this Shuckle since their gym challenge when she was promised a Snowrunt egg by the daycare but hatched it and received the Shuckle instead. She gave it to Gordie pretty quickly without much thought.

“Don’t knock it till you fight it,” Gordie said with a smile. “Shuckle use Stone Edge!”

This time he moved first, the Shuckle was a speedy little thing and while Frosmoth could hit like a truck it, unfortunately, didn’t take hits nearly as well. The poor pokemon went down in one hit as well.

“Impressive, too bad it won’t last, Let’s go Glaceon!” The blue eeveelution appeared on the field and Gordie remembered how happy Taiga had been when her Eevee evolved. They celebrated with a huge helping of curry that night on the road, falling asleep under the stars instead of in their tents.

“Glaceon Iron Tail!” It was a direct him, unfortunately, Glaceon was not a particularly strong attacking pokemon, so it was chip damage at most.

“Shuckle Stone Edge!” It was a decent chunk of damage as well but unfortunately, Glaceon was known for its bulk. It went back and forth like this for a while before Glaceon finally knocked out Shuckle then went down itself because of the sandstorm.

“Stonejourner!”

“Ninetales!” Ninetales? He didn’t know that she had a fire type. Though after seeing it come out of it’s Pokeball it was clearly not a fire-type. It took him a moment to recognize the Alolan form of Ninetales, an Ice and Fairy type, but it was beautiful. The two of them poured over magazines and would discuss the various kind of regional variants. He shook his head. He needed to stop thinking about these childhood memories, they were just a distraction.

The sandstorm disbursed as the kitsune pokemon entered the field and a hail storm started instead. That wasn’t shocking in the slightest, considering its ability was Snow Warning. If it was anything like a Kantonian Ninetales then it would be stupid fast.

“Ninetales, use Moonblast!” He knew that the pokemon would hit hard, but not almost take down his Stonejourner in one hit hard. The poor Pokemon was only at half health now.

“Stonejourner, wonder room,” he said hoping that maybe if he flipped his defense and special defense stats down then maybe he would stand a chance. It didn’t do any good. The Ninetales knocked out his pokemon the next turn.

He was down to just his Colassal now, and she still had three pokemon. He could feel the sweat dripping down his face as he did his best to hold on. He needed to end this quick. “Colassal, time to Dynamax!”

He threw it Pokeball that was now gigantamaxed. And the coal pokemon now looked more like a coal engine rather than a pokemon. It’s belly molting with a lava-like substance. He could see Taiga looking in awe at the pokemon. How long had it been since she had seen a gigantamax pokemon? Six years? More than likely.

“Ninetales, Moonblast!” The attack did nothing to his pokemon.

“Max Flare!” Gordie called and the Ninetales was down. Taiga seemed calm but he knew better, she was picking at her tights, she felt stressed.

“Darmanutan!” She called and the Zen Mode pokemon appeared. It looked ready to pick a fight and so did she.

“Superpower!” She called. She must have been desperate to use a move that would drastically drop her Attack stat, and yet… it wasn’t enough, it barely dented the Colassal as well.

“Max Flare again!” Gordie yelled and the Darmanutan was down, not even getting the chance to enter it’s Zen Mode.

“Damn, you really know how to trap a girl between a rock and a hard place,” Taiga called over to him. The pun wasn’t lost on him but he couldn’t afford to lose focus now, it was one on one and her last pokemon would be his toughest one yet.

“Let’s finish this Lapris.” The pokemon was one Gordie was still familiar with. And he wasn’t shocked when the pokemon was Gigantamaxed. His mother had warned him about this. But he had to go all out. There wasn’t any other choice. He would get through this, he had to.

“Lapris, Max Gyser.”

Gordie heard the sound of the Gigantamax collapsing before he saw it. Almost like a contained explosion as his Colassal collapsed having been knocked out. He had lost. He lost and he felt like it was six years ago again. His ears rang as he walked to the center of the pitch, not even really there. Taiga had to grab his hand to shake it. They had to make it good. It wouldn’t look good if he was a sore loser about this. They both knew this, but still—he could feel his eyes watering behind his sunglasses.

An announcer brought a microphone to Taiga as the reporters were scrambling and screaming for her statement and to answer their questions. He vaguely watched as she tapped the microphone to make sure it was on before she took a deep breath and spoke.

“I would have lost if I didn’t receive my gym-leader Gigantamax pokemon. As far as I’m concerned the match is a draw.” She dropped the microphone then and grabbed his hand, pulling him away from the pitch and away from the crowd. He blinked, in shock.

Did she consider the match a draw? Why? He wanted to ask as she pulled them into the back of the gym. They were alone, at the back away from prying eyes.

“Neither of us won out there. I’m not asking you to be my friend again but… I decided out there I’m done fighting. I’m done being upset over stupid things we said when we were upset. I’m sorry, I picked a fight with you. It was unprofessional of me. I hope we can work well together in the future.”

At that moment, he could see Taiga. Not the girl who walked out of a Corvinknight Taxi several days ago. But the girl who crashed into him in the snow and demanded they be friends. The girl that could be a gentle snowfall or a vicious blizzard.

He found himself ruffling her hair before he even realized it. His ego was still bruised. He was still upset but… he was tired too. Tired of fighting over something that happened six years ago.

“We can start over,” Gordie said and she blinked at him with wide silver eyes.

“I would like that,” she said with a smile. It wasn’t the answer to everything. They would have to relearn each other and such, but it was a start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I make her whole team and battle Gordie just to prove she could win? Yes yes, I did, and the battle I wrote is roughly how it played out in the game. Also, does anyone else just get super tired of fighting with people? That's how I imagine these two would be. They haven't fully apologized for the past but they have about how it has affected the present and chosen to start over. So now we get to watch where starting overtakes them.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, I'm not dead. I was just waiting for the DLC to come out so I would have some more material to work with. Be prepared because IDK how long this "arc" will be

_Taiga woke up bright and early. She was beaming and felt like she could float on air. She rushed out of bed and got dressed as quickly as she could. Nothing could bring her down, because today was the day! Today she was going to get her first pokemon… well her official first pokemon at least. And she was going to be an official trainer! Melony had already agreed to write her and Gordie endorsement letters which means the two of them would finally start their gym challenge like they always dreamed about!_

_Rushing out of her room…she smelled the alcohol before she even saw her father. It stung a little bit, as she peeked into her parent's room. Her mother wasn’t in their room, devoid of any and all personal decoration. There on the bed was her father, face-first into the bed. He snored lightly as he slept. There weren’t any alcohol bottles in the room but it’s likely her mother already cleaned them up when she woke up._

_Taiga could also smell breakfast that was cooking in the kitchen. When she finally went to the kitchen she could already see her Eevee and Snom munching happily on their pokemon food. She had been so excited she forgot they weren’t even in her room where they usually slept._

_“Morning sweetie,” her mother said—she sounded exhausted but Taiga didn’t say anything about it. She knew her mom was trying hard to keep a sense of stability for her. To make things easier, Taiga pretended she didn’t notice—so her mother didn’t have to try as hard._

_“Morning,” she sat in the chair and quickly began to scarf down her breakfast. She wanted to get to the gym as fast as possible. That meant finishing up her breakfast as quickly as possible._

_“You should eat your food not inhale it,” her mother teased but it didn’t deter Taiga in the slightest as she finished downing her eggs and toast. When she was done she grabbed her plate and fork—putting it in the sink before she put Snom and Eevee in their pokeballs._

_“Bye mom, I’ll see you before we head for Motostoke!” Taiga said as she grabbed her bag and rushed out the door. Her mother didn’t even get the change to get a word in before she was gone._

_She kicked up the freshly fallen snow as she ran up the steps to the gym—doing her best to not slip and fall on the ice as she did so. It would be her luck that she would fall and crack her head open just as she was meant to leave town and begin her journey._

_“Come on Taiga! What’s taking you so long?” She heard Gordie yell with a laugh from where he stood by the gym doors when she came into sight._

_“Not all of us are able to be here as door open,” she teased back—rushing forward to ruffle his hair despite his protest._

_“I’m surprised you are here this early,” he fired back as he began to smooth out his hair again. “You aren’t normally up for another few hours.”_

_“I appreciate my beauty rest,” she stated with a shrug making him giggle._

_“Are you ready?” He asked as they both faced the gym doors a feeling of excitement washing over them._

_“I was born ready,” she answered and the two walked in to receive their first official pokemon. Those pokemon would be Shuckle and Galarian Darumaka._

_…_

Taiga was woken with a start from the sound of her bedroom door being flung open. Her face had been buried in her pillow as she slept only to raise up suddenly—hair still falling in her face. She tried to see who had opened her door but her hair was in her face and she still had her arms under her torso so she couldn’t move the locks yet.

“What the—mom what the hell?” She asked as logically she couldn’t think who else would be in her room at—whatever ungodly hour in the morning it was. At least she assumed it was morning.

“Guess again,” a much deeper voice answered Taiga. Her eyes went wide and she suddenly pushed her hair back out of her face. Gordie was standing in her room, something that would have been nostalgic if she hadn’t just woken up. He was already dressed and ready to go in his gym uniform but she hadn’t expected such a wake-up call. And now, as he stood there with a cocky smile, Taiga was painfully aware of the fact she didn’t sleep in pajamas and hadn’t since she started living on her own.

“You know when we made up it didn’t give you permission to come into my room and ungodly hours in the morning,” she could already assume her mother had let him in and she would be sure to lecture her about that later. “And I’m going back to bed.”

Taiga let her face fall back in her pillow—she wasn’t really going back to sleep but she would fuck with him a little bit. She could practically feel him rolling his eyes at her antics.

“You never change,” he said letting out a little bit of a laugh. “And it’s ten in the morning you should be up by now.”

“I didn’t go to bed till four in the morning, I’ll sleep in if I want,” Taiga yelled into the pillow.

“Come on, we have official league promo stuff to do today.”

“Does it involve getting shoved into gaudy costumes and taking pictures?”

“…kind of?”

“Not interested.”

“Not optional,” Gordie fired back as he walked closer to Taiga’s bed. Her head went flying up at that and her hands grabbed the blanket tightly. If her instinct was correct he would yank the blanket off of her and frankly, he didn’t need to see her ratty old sports bra and underwear.

“If you yank that blanket off of me I swear I will gouge your eyes out,” she hissed.

“What scared I’ll see your Snom night dress?” Taiga knew they had made up but when he said stuff like that she really wanted to punch him in the face.

“No, because if I don’t I’ll have to sue for sexual harassment since I’m not exactly dressed AT ALL.” She put emphasis on the last of the words hoping he would get the message without her having to spell it out for him. Judging by the color that rose in his cheeks she guessed he did. Wordlessly, he headed over to her dresser and opened a few drawers—grabbing her uniform top and shorts and throwing them on her bed.

“Get dressed and be down in fifteen or I send your mother up to get you,” was all he said as he left her room and closed the door behind him. Taiga snickered.

“I guess I’ll get up then,” Taiga said as she grabbed the uniform and proceeded to get ready for the day. It didn’t take her long. She really only needed five minutes. It was plenty of time to get changed into her clothes, brush her hair, and then brush her teeth. She didn’t bother with makeup on a normal day so she didn’t get why today would be any different. If they insisted on painting her face at the photoshoot they could figure out how to cover the dark circles under her eyes.

…

“So where exactly are we going?” Taiga finally asked Gordie as they rode in silence on the train. They had taken a Corviknight Taxi from Circhester to Wedghurst and now they were on another train headed to a different station.

“We’re headed to the Isle of Armor, they recently opened it up for trainers in the gym challenge and so they want the gym leaders to do a shoot there to promote the opening.”

“That sounds tropical.”

“It is,” Gordie answered his eyes fixed on her. He knew she was getting at something but he wasn’t sure what yet.

“Do you have a guide of the pokemon that can be found there?”

“There should have been an update sent to your rotom phone.”

“Ah, thanks,” she said and she pulled out the device and proceeded to scroll through the dex—eyes flicking quickly as she read. “Just as I thought.”

“What?”

“There is exactly one ice type pokemon there and no snow, the fact I am going is really pointless.” Gordie’s expression told her that he wasn’t amused by the joke.

“Seriously, you were an elite four member in Alola—how are you so frustrating about fan service events?”

“For starters, the Alola league was stupid small. And second I really don’t see the point—people should recognize us for our battle prowess. We aren’t idols, we battle for entertainment and win for sponsorships.”

“And being personable helps get sponsorships.”

“I never had an issue getting them. You just have to win and they come to you.” Gordie groaned and leaned his head back. They really weren’t going to see eye to eye on that front. Seriously, how did a girl whose family was huge on reputation grow to not understand networking?

“The train is arriving at the station—please remain seated until the train as come to a full and complete stop.” The overhead speaker crackled temporarily stopping the two from bickering.

“Finally,” Taiga said when the train stopped and she stood up—stretching her legs.

“Don’t get too comfy we have to take another taxi from here to the island.”

“Fucking hell.”

“Language.”

“Make me.” He raised an eyebrow at her and she just stuck her tongue out in response. He felt a strong urge to grab her face in his hands and… and do what? He wasn’t sure exactly but her words really struck a chord with him as the two boarded the taxi to the island. He did his best to not think about how close she was and how unusually cool her skin felt where her knee touched his as they flew to the island.

…

“It’s too damned hot here,” Taiga whined as she sat in a chair next to Bea. They were doing beach shots currently which made no sense to her. They were supposed to be promoting the island for trainers as a place to train not a vacation spot.

“Just drink plenty of water, you don’t want to pass out,” Bea said as she handed Taiga a bottle of water—not even bothering to look up from her book.

“That was one time!” Taiga protested but she still took the water and drank a large gulp. Her eyes then drifted to the water where Nessa was taking her turn in front of the camera. She was a natural—made sense with her modeling career—and looked stunning in the white bikini they had chosen for her. It made Taiga pick at the cover-up she was currently wearing to shield the bikini she herself was wearing, though hers was pale blue instead.

“Gordie we need you on deck!” The Leon yelled in a megaphone. He was serving as a sort of shoot supervisor for the event. Guess it made sense as he was the new chairmen of the league.

“Coming,” she head in reply as he walked out of the makeshift dressing room. She looked over to where he was and tried to ignore how her mouth went dry when she saw him. He wore a pair of neutral-colored swim trunks He still wore a white button-up but it was undone so you could see the pale skin of his chest and stomach. His sunglasses were seated on his head and he was already smiling as he jogged down to the beach ready to trade-off with Nessa.

“Keep your mouth open like that and a pokemon will make it a home,” Bea teased causing Taiga to snap her jaw shut. She hadn’t even noticed it fall open.

“Would you shut up,” Taiga said as she took a playful swipe at Bea.

“Can you really blame her, the view is great.” The two girls looked to see Raihan standing over Taiga’s shoulder—his teal eyes surveying the various gym leaders who were sunbathing or building sandcastles. His eyes lingered between Piers (who had come insisting Marnie be supervised for her first official shoot) and Nessa as she dried off now that her shoot was complete for the area.

“Who says I’m enjoying the view and not just shocked someone is trying so hard for fans instead of training to be stronger?” Taiga shot back—suddenly thankful she was already flushed from the heat outside.

“Whatever you need to tell yourself to sleep at night kid,” Raihan finished before he ran again to go talk to Leon about something. She tried to ignore the words that stuck in her head as she watched the shoot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have some idiots figuring out feelings. I hope you enjoy and sorry again for taking such a long break. I hope to see you all again soon for the next part of this "photoshoot" arc. Until next time later gators!


End file.
